When I heard that shrimp toasts are a typical item on dim sum menus I needed to make them immediately. (Dim sum happens to be one of my obsessions). Last weekend I was in the mood for a night at home filled with wine, appetizers and the hope of staying up past 10pm. Yes, you read that correctly and sadly, no, that wasn’t a typo. Ten-o-clock-pm. I blame daylight savings but I was really struggling to stay awake past 9 last week.

The wine and appetizers at home turned into (hurry up and make some appetizers while you still have enough light to photograph it) and an impromptu California wine tasting. Appetizers were eaten pre, during, and post-wine.

The shrimp toasts totally remind me of dim sum so I kind of fell in love. The shrimp mixture is a bit spicy (though I could have used a touch more sriracha had it been just me) and the perfect topping for buttery toast. It would also be a delicious filling for homemade dumplings…maybe they are in my future?

What a wonderful day yesterday was – I had the day off in observance of Yom Kippur. Even though I’m not Jewish, the organization that I work for is and I’m fortunate enough to get a few extra days off this fall. It was so nice to have a slower day to catch up on errands, take a mid-morning yoga class and get a mani/pedi ($28!).

Breakfast: Ok, this is CRAZY but I had seen it a few times online and was so intrigued, I needed to try it. “Bulletproof Coffee” is a blended mix of coffee, butter (grass-fed) and coconut oil. You are supposed to use “mold -free” coffee beans, but I used my regular, old coffee beans from Trader Joe’s. Blended together, it creates a frothy latte-like drink. It was wonderful and I want to drink it every day. Obviously it is mainly fat, which my body does very well on but I’m not sure if it would be enough substance for normal days. On the weekends when I tend to eat more of a “brunch” meal than breakfast it just might work…

Workout: 75 minute yoga class. I initially wasn’t a huge fan of the yoga classes offered at the spinning/yoga studio that I belong to, but I think it might have been because they push me in ways that I’m not used to. I grew accustomed to the classes I used to take and now I’m forced into practicing headstands/handstands (which I don’t love), but know I should be doing. That was a really long way to say, I really enjoyed the class and I’ll be making more of an effort to get there on a regular basis.

Lunch: greens + olive oil + smoked trout salad (3 oz smoked trout + mayo + raw sauerkraut) + carrots. I’ve had two cans of smoked trout in the cupboard for months and finally decided to try it out. I’ve always been a little nervous for some reason, but it was a great change from tuna and I’m sure I’ll use that next can soon!

Evening Snack: olives + salami + raw gouda + red wine with a side of computer work and The Real Housewives (favorite guilty pleasure).

Dinner: chicken breast + spaghetti squash + green beans. Earlier today I saw a tweet from my local Whole Foods that they were having a 1-day sale on whole chickens for $.99/pound. Since  I’ve been obsessed with cooking whole chickens lately, I stocked up and bought one to freeze and had the butchers cut up the other one for meals for the next few days. I ate about 2/3 of the chicken breast and saved the rest for lunch.

I finished off the evening with 3 dark chocolate peanut butter cups. I. am. addicted.

Have a wonderful weekend friends!